The Controls
Chair has done a phenomenal job in fully utilizing the iPhone’s touchscreen to make the controls as simple and intuitive as possible. Navigating around the castle is done by simple taps on the screen at pre determined locations. This then displays a cut scene of your character moving around. The main bulk of the game is portrayed through fights with various enemies throughout the castle. Fight controls are again extremely simple. Swiping in any direction causes the player to attack with the equipped weapon.
For defensive purposes Chair have added a number of options, players can tap to dodge left or right of the enemies incoming attacks, they can use their defence points by blocking with their equipped shield or they can parry by timing a swipe in perfect sync with the enemies direction of attack. All these options should give the player the upper hand over any obstacle. I found during my time with the game the most effective form of defence is to simply dodge the attacks, as parrying is too difficult to time correctly and blocking with the shield does not give you enough time to counter.
Players are also able to utilise magic rings with a variety of abilities. Depending on what ring you have equipped will give you different powers, for example: A fire ring will require you to draw a circle on the screen, when prompted, to perform a devastating fire attack.
Before its release, Chair announced that, Infinity Blade would carry elements of an RPG game. This can be found in the character customisation options. As with most role playing games you are able to equip your warrior with various sets of armour, weapons and magic boosting rings.
All of which can be levelled up with XP earned from your battles. Once a set is mastered it can then be sold in the store and new more powerful equipment can be bought and the process repeated. I think once players learn the attack patterns of the various combatants the core mechanic of the game switches to become more of a level grind, that’s not to say that isn’t extremely entertaining. You will have hours of fun working your way through the varied weapons and armour to reach the new level cap of 45.
The Looks
To say that Infinity Blade looks good on an iPhone is a massive understatement. This is easily one of the best looking portable games I have ever seen. In terms of visual quality it could easily rival games found on much more powerful handhelds like the PSP. Add to that a stirring orchestral score and brutal fight sound effects and you have got a game that truly stands above the crowd in terms of visual quality.
Overall
Although the campaign is extremely short, took me around 20 minutes to finish the first time, and essentially is the same game play over and over again I still found myself returning to Infinity Blade. Its simple controls and RPG elements create a game that just keeps you coming back for more. Using the age old hook of “oh I’ll just defeat this bad guy........then just level up this sword.......then earn enough to buy this armour” and before you know it your battery is drained for the rest of the day. To put it simply if you own an iPhone then make sure that Infinity Blade is a game that you own. You will not regret it.
I'll give Infinity Blade 8 out of 10.
Merry Xmas to everyone
I just want to thank everyone who reads and comments on this blog and to wish you all a very Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year.
Keep an eye out for my next post where I will be running down my favourite games from 2010.
See y'all next time.
